The present invention provides a method for mounting a window-lifter mechanism and its carrier in a shell of a vehicle door, as well as the corresponding vehicle door.
More specifically, the invention relates to a vehicle door equipped with a window lifter of the type having a cable and drum with at least one rail for guiding the travel of the window, and more particularly of the double rail-drum type (known as "double lift").
In this door, the shell has an opening for the introduction of the mechanisms. A carrier plate seals the opening necessary for the passage of the window-lifter mechanism, the top of the shell having a well for the passage of the window.
Door modules which concentrate all (or some) of the mechanisms mounted inside the door or on the door (lock, rail-type window-lifter mechanism etc.) on a carrier are known in the state of the art. The purpose of these modules is to make these elements easier to mount on the production lines.
The invention relates in particular to instances in which the carrier panel incorporates the sealing function. Incorporating the sealing function into the module imposes restrictions with respect to the space available inside the door shell, and with respect to the travel of the window. The raised position and the lowered position of the window define its travel. The window travel and the length of the slide determine the minimum length of the rail. The rail is attached to the carrier plate and the latter has a peripheral seal which provides a seal between the door and the interior of the vehicle around the periphery of the opening in the shell. The fascia reinforcement at the top of the door has a shape which is generally chosen to have the maximum moment of inertia. In addition, a volume needed to give the bottom of the shell a certain amount of rigidity is left available between the lower edge of the opening in the shell and the bottom of this shell.
When the rail with its carrier plate is mounted in the conventional way, the rail is pushed down inside the shell until it rests against the bottom thereof, then the whole assembly is tilted to provide contact with the sealing border of the opening of the shell. To allow the whole assembly to be tilted, it is necessary for the height available inside the door shell to be greater than or equal to the sum of the length of the rail and the height of the lower rim situated below the lower edge of the opening in the shell. Because the height of the rim cannot be zero, owing to the need to produce a door shell of sufficient stiffness, it is not possible to produce a rail which uses all the length available inside the shell, i.e. which extends into the height of the lower rim.